The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-05-11
FLORIDIAN POSSIBILITIES.


FLORIDIAN POSSIBILITIES.
How Svamps are Being Turned Into Gardens
Raising Cocoanuts and Pinenpples-The Sugar
Land of the Future.
Letter to Cleveland Leader.
met Judge w. d. Kelley, OF Penn
sylvania, Mt the Windsor Hotel at
Jacksonville. He had Just returned
from South Florida, and he was full
OF the wonderful resources and pos
sibilitips OF that unknown region.
South Florida embraces all the lands
south of the twenty-ninth parallel OF
latitude. 1t contains over 1000
square miles, an area more than three
times as large as the State OF Massa-
chusetts, and more than twenty
times as large as Rhode Island. A
greater part OF this territory is UNI
known, and some OF it has never been
explored. 1t Is n great place for the
grazing OF cattle and it contains I'M
mense swamp lands, which are only in
habited by Indians and wild beasts.
The northern part OF it is now
being settled and the north
western part contains much fine
orange country. On the eastern part
along the Atlantic ocean is the Indian
river region, which is the finest orange
country in the world, and the fruit OF
which sells at higher prices than any
other. Some OF the best land OF this
region is susceptible OF drainage.
Hamilton Disston, the saw millionaire
OF Philadelphia, has organized u com
pany for it's reclamation. If you will
look at the map OF Florida you will
see that there are a number OF lakes
Joined by rivers which finally pour
their waters into the great lake OF
Okeechobee Disston bought 4,OOO,-
600 acres OF land in this region at
TWENTY-FIVE cents nm acre, and entered
into a contact with the State OF Flor
ida by which he was to have half
the land which he reclaimed.
He has dug wide bitches from
one OF these lakes to the other, until
he now has stream OF water running
through them eff into the Gull OF Mex,
leo. The topmost lake OF this system
is, | think, lake Tohopekallga, and
this is about sixty feet higher than
the waters OF the gulf. He has q con-
tinuous iall from the head OF this lake
to the gulf, and he has redeemed, it is
said, such an amount OF land as to
give his company the right to 1,OOO,-
900 acres. The work is still going on,
and n great area OF valuable terrt DRY
will be recovered The lands included
in the Disston purchase are tine best
IN Florida. They will make, 1t Is
said, the best sugar lands OF the Unit
ed states, and this will be our great
sugar country OF the future.
In this region, also, cocoanuts and
pineapples are grown, and the cocoa
nut industry is being largely Guilt
waited in South Florida. Pneapples
and cocoanuts pay very well. Ten
thousand pineapples can be raised ,ltiS
said, to the acre, and an acre oiground
will support fifty cocoanut trees. Inc
cocoanut trees require little cultlvai
ton. They begin to bear at rom nlneto
twelve years of age, and they produce
from soto / 5Onuts to the tree. Cocoa
nuts bring about five cents apiece to
the grower, and supposing ten'acre
grove will yield 10000 nuts 1t would
bring in an income OF $1,000 a year.
There have been many cocoanut
groves planted within the last
two or three years in south FlorlI
da. Mr.. Field, OF Mlddletown, n.
j.. has about 100000 trees.
They are planted twenty feet apart
each way on a strip OF land in Dado
bounty. near the Atlantic Ocean. Mr..
Field thinks that the ground along the
ocean is the best for the cocoanut. In
Monroe county there are also some
groves, and at Charlotte Harbor, on
the Gulf OF Mexico, there are trees
which produce 800 and more nuts
apiece annually. There are 32o,oOO
trees now in Monroe county, OF which
10000 we're set out last year. Flori-
da grew about 100000 dozen pine
apples last year, and the day may
come when it will supply to the United
States the most OF its tropical fruits.
General Grant said that Florida was
capable of supplying the tropical
fruits now used in the United
States and all of the Sl00,OOO,OOO
worth of sugar now imported, and in
,his opinion it afforded the best open.
ing in the world for young men OF
small means and great industry.
think this is true to a certain extent.
But the pioneer needs more capital to
begin his life here than in the Western
States. Orange growing and cocoa
hut growing require time before they
begin to yield profit, but when the